ATOMIC PHYSICS

End of 19th Century:

• Almost all of physics seemed to be explained by mechanics, thermodynamics & electromagnetism

• Only a few “minor” problems remained to be resolved. Otherwise physics was thought to be almost complete, it was just a question of time…

• Nature of problems: There were quite solid “buildings”of Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism without communications between them.

• There were also mysterious effects that lacked explanation, but they did not affect machinery, weaponry, or agriculture. Only a few people were bothered by these unsolved problems.

The dilemma of Mechanics and E&M

The problem can be stated in the following form there are three statementsGalilean transformations of coordinates and absolute time.The speed of light is constant in all frames of reference.All laws of Nature are the same in all inertial frames of reference.

These three statements contradict each other. One has to be dropped to resolve the problem.

The special theory of relativityEinstein’s solution – special theory of relativity: two postulates, 1905:All inertial frames of reference are equally suitable for the description of physical phenomena.The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers and is independent of the motion of the source.The toll for this is the Lorentz transformations of space-time with a set of consequences – the effects not intuitively simple for most people

Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night, God said, “Let Newton be,” and all was light. It did not last; the devil howling “Ho! Let Let Einstein be!” restored the status quo.

Alexander Pope – Sir John Collins

Three big problems with light (EM radiation) that were unresolved:

• Blackbody radiation

• Photoelectric effect

• Atomic spectra

Today we will start discussion of how “fixing” these three problems has changed the world.

BLACKBODY RADITATION

Bodies emit heat radiation that depends on their temperature.

T0029.0

law sWien'

max =λ4~

law sStefan'TP

The power of EM radiation emitted by an object is proportional to the fourth power of its temperature (K)

Color of stars is due to their temperatureRigel: T = 10,000 K

Betelgeuse: T = 3,200 K

Sun: T = 5,800 K

Blackbody Radiation

Experiment:

1. Wien’s law – maximum emission at λmax

2. Radiation is in equilibrium with matter

Theory:

1. No “maximum emission wavelength”

2. Ultraviolet catastrophe

BBR is due to EM waves emitted by vibrating atoms.

Photo-electric effect

Experiment:The frequency of the light must be above a certain threshold value for that metal for electrons to be emitted. For example blue light causes sodium to emit electrons but red light does not. Incredibly weak beams of light can cause electrons to be emitted. The kinetic energy of the electrons depends only on the frequency of the light. A very weak ultraviolet beam will give electrons a higher kinetic energy than a very bright blue beam of light. The electrons are emitted very quickly after the radiation is turned on

Theory:

The electrons shouldeventually absorb enough energy to be emitted, regardless of frequency.

Light waves are expected tospread out and no electrons are expected to obtain the energy to escape.

The kinetic energy of the electrons depends on the intensity of the light

Electron emission should increase with time…

When light is shone on metal , the surface may become positively charged. This is because electrons gain energy from the light waves, and are able to leave the metal's surface.

What is different between the spectrum emitted by a regular light bulb and the spectra emitted by the discharge tubes ?

• The spectrum of the light bulb is a continuous band of colors: Continuous spectrum.

• It is light emitted due to the temperature of the filament (Blackbody radiation)

• The spectra emitted by the discharge tubes show distinctive lines of color: Emission-line spectra.

Spectra

Absorption spectra

The spectrum from the Sun discovered by The spectrum from the Sun discovered by FraunhoferFraunhofer, 1824, 1824

Ok, blackbody radiation, but what are these lines?Ok, blackbody radiation, but what are these lines?

Emission spectra

1. When “heated”gases emit only on certain wavelengths rather than continuous BBR spectrum.

2. The spectrum is uniquely defined by the gas.

Black body radiationFirst explained by Max PlanckAssumption: The light is emitted in “portions”, called quanta. The energy of each quantum is proportional to its frequencyE = h f, where h = 6.626 x 10-34 J sf - frequency of oscillating atoms – the energy is quantized – comes in portions for a given frequency: e.g. if light is emitted at frequency f, the emitted energy will be 0, hf, 2hf, 3hf,… nhf, (n+1)hf,…

This assumption led to the Plank’s formula for BBR that becomes Rayleigh-Jeans formula in the limit of long waves

PhotonsEinstein took the next step by working out that all radiation is quantized. He argued that an oscillating charge can accept or lose energy in small values of∆E = h∆f. This energy is lost as electromagnetic radiation. This radiation must be emitted in small packets, each containing ∆E. He then suggested that each energy of radiation will have its own frequency. The radiation from an object is notcontinuous – it consists of a series of "packets" of energy. Radiation is a "packet of energy" but is also a wave because it has a frequency. These became known as photons.

Photons – particles and waves

Photons reveal properties of both particles and waves:Wave properties: frequency, wavelength, interference, diffraction, polarization, reflection, refraction, etc.Particle properties: carries a quantum of energy = hf, carries linear momentum = h/λ.

These particle properties are essential for the explanation of BBR: the quantization of energy in such a way gives Planck’s formula, the property of momentum explains the equilibrium of radiation and matter.

Particle – wave duality is one of the most striking and essential features of the modern physics

Photoelectric effect

Einstein: the light arrived in photons. One photon gave all its energy to one electron. The electron must gain a certain amount of energy to overcome the forces that hold it inside the metal. One electron can only accept one photon of energy, so this must have the required frequency to have the necessary escape energy, so the intensity will not make any difference to this. Brighter light means there are more photons, so more electrons can be emitted, but it is the frequency of the light that decides the energy of the photon and so the electron's kinetic energy. Electrons can also be emitted very quickly because it only requires one photon for emission to occur, not the gradual build up of wave energy. The kinetic energy of escaped electrons is a linear function of frequency

KEWhf +=

How much energy does a photon of light have ?

Example: Red light, f = 4.7 x 1014 Hz

Ered = h f = (6.63 x 10-34 J s) (4.7 x 1014 s-1)

= 3.12 x 10-19 J

Convenient unit of energy: 1 electron gains in a 1 Volt battery:

E = q V = (1.6x10-19 C) (1 V) = 1.6 x 10-19 J

= 1 Electron x volt = 1 eV

So, Ered = 3.12 x 10-19 J/ 1.6 x 10-19 J/eV

= 1.95 eV

Ranges in energies E = hf/e in eVRed light: E = 1.65 eV - 1.99 eV

Yellow light: E = 2.11 eV - 2.23 eV

Blue light: E = 2.52 eV - 2.77 eV

UV: E = 3.10 eV - 4 keV

X-rays: E = 40 eV - 400 keV

Example: to escape a certain metal surface, electrons should overcome 5 eV threshold. What radiation is needed to cause photoelectric effect? What would be the average kinetic energy of escaping electrons if it is irradiated with UV radiation at 6 eV?

UV is needed, KE = hf – W = 6 – 5 = 1 eVThe threshold for PE (W – work function) depends on the material

Hz102.1eV/Hz10136.4

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How do we determine the frequency?

Atomic modelAtomic model

E. Rutherford E. Rutherford (1871(1871--1937)1937)

The size of the nucleus is very small compared to the orbit radius

Electrons orbit nuclei as planets orbit around the Sun – the Coulomb force

Problem: rotating electrons (due to centripetal acceleration) emit EM waves –bound to loose energy and fall on the nucleus – no stable atoms…

N. Bohr (1885N. Bohr (1885--1962)1962)

Atoms are made of a positively charged nucleus (protons + neutrons) and a “cloud” of negatively charged electrons that surround the nucleus.

The electrons do not emit radiation while on the orbit

The Bohr model of the atom

• Both energy and angular momentum are quantized

• Electrons move in specific “orbits”. Only certain orbits are allowed. Orbits are characterized by their energy and angular momentum

• The orbits do not have to be spherical

• Electrons can jump from one orbit to another by absorbing or emitting energy.

Innermost orbit (number 1) has lowest energy = “ground state”

Hydrogen atomHydrogen atom

Higher orbits have larger energy = “excited states”.

•To get from a lower energy orbit to a higher energy orbit the electron needs to absorb energy.

• To “fall” back to a lower energy orbit the electron needs to emit (get rid of) some energy.

Typically, the energy is emitted as photons Typically, the energy is emitted as photons (electromagnetic radiation).(electromagnetic radiation).

Absorption of light:Absorption of light:

AbsorptionAbsorption--line spectrum:line spectrum:

Energy levelsEnergy levels (Energies of orbits) in hydrogen:(Energies of orbits) in hydrogen:

Why are these energies negative ?Why are these energies negative ?

Because the electrons are bound to the atom and energy is required to remove them.

An electron that is all by itself at rest, far away from any other charge, would have zero potential energy and zero kinetic energy, i.e. its total energy would be zero.

Electron bound to a positively charged nucleus, has negative potential energy and positive kinetic energy, but the total energy is negative.

It would take energy to remove the electron, i.e. to make its energy equal to zero again. This energy is called the IONIZATION ENERGY.

Question:

An electron in an excited state (n = 3) falls back to the ground state (n=1). How much energy is released (emitted) ?

The energy of the electron changes from –1.51 eV to –13.60 eV. Therefore (-1.51 eV)-(-13.60 eV) = 12.09 eV is released.

Energy absorbed or emitted by an electron moving from an orbit m to an orbit n:

∆E = En - Em

If an electron jumps from orbit 2 to orbit 4, does it absorb or emit energy ?

1. Absorb

2. Emit

An electron jumps from the n=3 orbit to the n=2 orbit. What is the frequency of the light that is emitted?

∆E = E3-E2 = -1.51 eV– (-3.4) eV= 1.89 eV

∆E is the energy of the photon emitted:

∆E = h f

f = ∆E/h = (1.89 eV)/(4.136x10-15 eV/Hz)

= 4.57 x 1014 Hz (Red, visible light)

Hydrogen spectrumHydrogen spectrum

Ultra violetUltra violet

VisibleVisible

IRIR

Atomic physics – quantum mechanics

Blackbody radiation: Energy of vibrating atoms comes in portions – quanta with E = hf.

In general, light comes in chunks, called photons with energy E = h f and momentum p=h/λ

Electrons in atoms have specific orbits: the orbits are quantized and not continuous.

Energy absorbed or emitted by an electron moving from an orbit m to an orbit n:

∆E = En – Em - final minus initial

If positive, electron energy increases –a photon is absorbed,

Negative –emitted

Atomic modelAtoms are made of a positively charged

nucleus (protons + neutrons) and a “cloud” of negatively charged electrons that surround the nucleus.

The electrons do not emit radiation while on the orbit

Both energy and angular momentum are quantized

Electrons move in specific orbits. Only certain orbits are allowed. Orbits are characterized by their energy and angular momentum

The orbits do not have to be spherical

Electrons can jump from one orbit to another by absorbing or emitting energy.

Phenomenology calls for a fundamental theory

The Bohr’s model is based on two assumptions –postulates that require quantization. The model works, but it cannot explain why.

Blackbody radiation and photoelectric effect – same thing: photons have to be put on a solid ground…

General features of the new phenomena:

In the microscopic world (atoms, electrons, photons), (some) properties change in discontinuous ways, they are quantized.EM radiation reveals dualistic properties being both

waves and particles

Can electrons (and other particles) act as waves?Can electrons (and other particles) act as waves?

mvh

=λ

Prince Louis-Victor de Broglie(1892-1987)

1923: Any particle with momentum mv “has” a wavelength h/mv – de Broglie wavelength

ph

=λ

More general statement: photon has zero mass, but this formula gives a momentum to a photon:

λhp =

Application to Bohr modelApplication to Bohr model

If electrons are waves, they have to “fit” their orbit, if not they will interfere destructively.

Therefore: 2 π r = n λ = n h/(m v), with n = 1,2,3,…

From this: L = m r v = n h/(2 π)

The angular momentum of the electron is quantized exactly as required by Bohr model

Experimental proof

Davisson & Germer, 1925

Send electrons through a thin metal foil

Observed: Diffraction & Interference!!!

XX--raysrays ElectronsElectrons

Bragg scattering of electrons on the crystal surface

Sir W.H. Bragg and his son Sir W.L. Bragg in 1913 discovered X-ray diffraction and interference but it turned out that the same result could be obtained using electron or other particles’ scattering

Electron microscopy

TEM – transmission electron microscope – electrons instead of light – Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska, Germany, 1931

SEM – scanning electron microscope 1942-1965

The theory…

1926 – six papers – wave mechanicsIntroduce a wave to describe an electron

(or other particle) – try to mimic an EM wave

Introduce a wave function that would obey a wave equation

Find solutions of this equation for hydrogen atom and other systems

Hydrogen atom – Bohr model!

What does the wave function have to do with an electron?

Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961)

Heisenberg’s Formulation of quantum mechanics, 1925

• Particles have wave-like properties.

• Therefore they cannot be thought of as well-defined points in space with well-defined momentum.

• Their position and momentum are not 100% determinable.

( ) hmvx ≥∆∆ Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976)

"The more precisely the POSITION is determined,

the less precisely the MOMENTUM is known"

Tunneling:

Another “strange” result of the wave nature of electrons.

Electrons can move “ghostlike” through a barrier.

Used in read-heads for hard drives, transistors, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

Contemporary application: scanning microscopy

Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, 1983 – STM

Consequences of quantum mechanicsFor small particles, trajectories are ill-defined

On the atomic scale and smaller, the particles cannot be localized

The wave function gives a probabilistic description to a particle

The physical quantities can be determined in a probabilistic way using the wave function

It is not possible to predict a result of measurement with certainty – only a probability of result can be calculated.

Not all quantities can be measured at the same time due to uncertainty principle

Well – it’s a new look at measurement…

Back to atomic model

Electrons occupy orbitals according to their energy and angular momentum

It is not possible to tell where on the orbital the electron resides

We can only determine the probability to find it at a certain location…

… probability of it having a certain velocity, etc.

Clouds of probability

Pieter Zeeman (1865-1943)

The energy levels split in magnetic field

Fine structure of levels has been found in 1920s…

Wolfgang Pauli (1901-1958)

To explain the fine structure of atomic levels introduced spin – intrinsic moment of electron (and other particles), 1928

In some sense, similar to spinning in one or other direction with respect to a certain axis, but it is wrong to think about an electron as a spinning ball since it has to spin at a speed exceeding the speed of light

According to Heisenberg uncertainty principle, only one projection of the spin can be determined (spin up or down)

Electrons and some other particles such as protons and neutrons have a spin of h/4π.

The Bohr model explained the hydrogen atom quite well, but not other atoms.

In a more complicated atom, why don’t all the electrons occupy the ground state? Why do they fill the orbitals?

Pauli: the wave functions of particles that have a spin of h/4π are such, that no two particles can be in the same state! – Exclusion principle

No two electrons in the same atom can occupy the exact same state.Each energy (n=1,2,…) level has a certain number of quantum states. Once all of these are filled up, the next higher energy level becomes occupied.

2n2 states are allowed on each level

X-ray spectra

Broad background from fast slow down of electrons – bremsstrahlung radiation

Peaks due to electronic transitions within atom – if the internal electron on n=1 level (ground state) is kicked out, another electron from “above” (n=2,3) jumps down causing the emission of an X-ray photon. It is called Kα and Kβ correspondingly.

Lasers = “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission

of Photons”Excite majority of atoms into a specific excited state –

population inversion

Specific state can be “stimulated” into emission when the atom gets hit by another photon

“Chain reaction”

- Amplification

Radiation – stimulated and spontaneous – A. Einstein

“Coherent” – all waves are in the same phase – far order

Inverse population – a system with a negative temperature

Other coherent systems:Electrons in a superconductor

Electrons in a white dwarf

Neutrons in a neutron star

Condensed systems at extremely low temperatures

Main features: ultra high pressure or ultra low temperature

Holographic image – a result of interference of two coherent beams – a phase image – 3D

Dennis Gabor, 1947